STACK June 2017 Issue 152

BENJAMIN BOOKER

jbhifi.com.au

JUNE

2017

visit

stack.net.au

MUSIC

NEWS

continued

You’ve said you recently decided

not to veil your ideas or feelings

in metaphor any longer. I think

we often use devices (metaphor,

emojis, so on) to sort of soften

our communication.What was

the catalyst for your decision?

I think it was just a confidence

thing. I’ve been in the industry

for a while now and I feel like I

have now learnt how to separate

'Marika Hackman' the artist, and

the person. I think understanding

the difference between the two

made it easier to be more direct

with my lyrics, as I could attach

them to my desired artistic

persona rather than having them

just linked back to me. The lyrics

are still coming from a very

personal place of course, and

always have one foot in my own

experiences, but I think this shift

allowed me to let stuff flow out

and not feel the need to shroud it

in mystery as a protection device.

Good Intentions AKA

Fountain Head,

the switch into

that double time, syncopated

beat in the chorus is so

unexpected (and cool!). Did

you muck around a lot with the

verse/chorus feel of this track

before this specific idea struck

you?

I actually had the opening riff

for a really long time and had

written another song around it

which wasn’t good enough...

and then I remember, I was just

sitting on my bed noodling around,

and the chorus just came out

of nowhere. I added it into the

demo and then went and played

it to my housemate and that was

that. I think it all happened pretty

naturally; I don’t tend to have

specific ideas before going into

writing.

The strings on

RoundWe Go

are

super lovely.Where does that

cello come from?

I’ve been working with Kirsty,

who plays violin and viola, and

Rachael who plays cello for a few

years now. They’re both amazing

musicians. I wanted to have a

cello part in this one to emphasise

[a] stripped-back feel... inspired

of course by Nirvana’s MTV

Unplugged set. It’s a pretty simple

part but it adds a lot of warmth;

I’ve always really loved the sound

of a lone cello.

Cigarette

there are tiny

haunting whining sounds

(violin and your voice?) in the

background of the last section

of this song.Why are these

miniscule atmospheric details

important to you?

I think that they have to be

important to anyone making any

kind of art. You can write a good

song, but how you treat it in the

studio can either take it up a level

or just leave it where it was. If

you’re trying to create any sort of

atmosphere, especially on a song

as intimate as

Boyfriend

, then it’s

going to be those subtle details

that do it. In my mind,

Cigarette

is almost like an interlude on this

record; I feel like that moment

in the song is there to give the

listener some space to breathe

in the middle before it all comes

back in.

AppleTree

has a very

Kill Bill

kind of opening, with that

whistle. Are you considered an

accomplished whistler?

It’s funny that you say that,

because I actually went into that

song wanting it to sound like

it could’ve been lifted from a

Tarantino soundtrack – looks like

my plan worked. I wouldn’t say

that I’m an accomplished whistler;

I can carry a tune but nothing

fancy. I’ve always been really

jealous of people who can do that

really loud whistle where you put

two fingers in your mouth.

How about the other effects on

this one: there are whip-cracks

and something that sounds like

metallic castanets?

I wanted some whip-cracks

to really bring home that sort of

western feel, so I found some

clips of people cracking whips

online and sampled the best

ones. It actually took a really long

time to find those proper, almost

cartoonish whip-crack sounds, I

think I went through about 60…

I think the metallic castanets

you’re talking about are actually

wooden frogs. They’ve got these

ridged backs which you run a

little wooden stick down and they

make a very satisfying noise.

Charlie invested in a whole set of

different-sized frogs so we could

get the right tone, and then we

each picked one and recorded it

together in the live room.

I heard many references to

mouths in these lyrics, all the

way across the album. Do you

have an oral fixation, or do I?

I think I do have an oral fixation

– I used to suck my thumb a lot,

and long enough that it got to the

point where I was definitely too

old. I also remember, when I was

a kid, holding food against my

mouth before I would eat it, which

is pretty weird – I hope there aren’t

any psychologists reading this. I

guess the main song focusing on

mouths is

Violet

, seeing as it says

‘I love your mouth’ about 50 times,

but that’s actually just because my

girlfriend has a great mouth.

ZKR

I'm Not

Your Man

by Marika

Hackman is

out June 2 via

Caroline.

MARIKA

HACKMAN

This month British singer-songwriter Marika Hackman

releases her incisive, quick-witted, engrossing and super fun

debut

I'm NotYour Man

–

we asked her some questions.

Words

Tim Lambert

octors recommend fruit, veg and exercise, but I advise you add a good dose of New Orleans crooner Benjamin

Booker's new album

Witness

to your diet to keep your

soul

healthy. From the opening bars of

Right On You

it’s

clear this record was made to make you happy; once Booker’s coarse and beautifully cracked voice hits your ears

you’re sucked right into his world.

Motivation

encourages a fresh outlook, and you’ll need your dancing shoes on by

the time you get to upbeat, hip-swinging

Off The Ground

. Brightness emanates from the title track, from its slinky

guitars to the endearingly guileless piano, and the gospel choir which cuddles Mavis Staples’ gorgeous feature vocal.

Forget Bourbon Street and its beads; this is soul food, teaching you how to live right – one song at a time.

Witness

Benjamin Booker

is out June 2 via

Remote Control.